Former Nigerian Bar Association First Vice President, John Aikpokpo-Martins, has called on senior members of the legal profession, particularly past national officers and lawyers who have contested national elections, to become more actively involved in the affairs of the Association and use the Annual General Meeting to drive reforms rather than wait until after elections to complain about shortcomings in the system.
Aikpokpo-Martins made the call while reflecting on discussions at the 2026 NBA Annual General Meeting, where concerns were raised about the escalating cost of electioneering and the need to reform the Association’s electoral framework.
According to him, a significant moment occurred at the AGM when Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, raised concerns over what he described as the excessive and prohibitive costs associated with contesting NBA elections.
Aikpokpo-Martins said the intervention drew a response from the then NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, who informed the meeting that a committee constituted during the 2025 constitutional amendment process had actually proposed far-reaching measures aimed at drastically reducing electioneering expenses.
Those recommendations, Osigwe reportedly explained, were overwhelmingly rejected by members at the 2025 NBA AGM in Enugu.
“Something poignant occurred at the AGM yesterday,” Aikpokpo-Martins said.
“Learned Silk Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, made a sobering intervention on the need to curb the excessive and prohibitive costs of electioneering in the NBA. In response, the then President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, stated as a matter of fact that a committee had, during last year’s constitutional amendment process, made far-reaching recommendations to drastically reduce the cost of electioneering.
“Regrettably, those recommendations were overwhelmingly rejected at the 2025 AGM in Enugu. The learned silk, and I guess like many others, was surprised and aghast.”
Aikpokpo-Martins also recalled the intervention of Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, the first runner-up in the 2026 NBA presidential election, who raised concerns about the Association’s electoral process and moved that a committee be constituted to consider electoral reforms.
According to him, Osigwe again reminded members that reforming the NBA’s electoral framework required engagement with the Association’s constitutional amendment process, which ultimately culminates at the AGM.
“For further context, Yemi Akangbe, SAN, also made compelling submissions on electoral reform and moved that the AGM constitute a committee to that effect,” Aikpokpo-Martins said.
“Once again, the President referenced the only legitimate pathway: the amendment of our electoral process must, by law and by practice, culminate at the AGM. He posed a pertinent question: why was this process not engaged in 2025 when the opportunity presented itself before the 2026 election?”
Aikpokpo-Martins said the exchanges highlighted what he considered a deeper problem within the Association — the disengagement of experienced senior lawyers from the NBA’s internal governance processes.
“There is a troubling disengagement in the affairs of our Association,” he said.
“Experienced senior members, particularly past national officers, who ought to be custodians of institutional memory and process have become conspicuously absent from the AGM and from the governance discourse of the NBA.”
He also questioned why lawyers aspiring to occupy national offices, particularly the presidency of the Association, would not closely monitor and participate in constitutional amendment processes that directly shape the electoral system under which they intend to contest.
“One must also ask: how does a member who aspires to national office, particularly the office of President, choose not to follow with keen interest every process leading to the amendment of the Constitution?” he asked.
Aikpokpo-Martins recalled that in the period leading to the 2025 constitutional amendment, many senior members of the Association neither made submissions nor participated actively in discussions over the proposed changes.
He singled out Barbara Tosan Onwubiko and Democrat Chukwuemeka, a former Second Vice President of the NBA, among a small group of members who canvassed their positions before the AGM and subsequently attended the meeting to argue their positions on the floor.
“In the lead-up to the 2025 constitutional amendment, many senior members made neither contributions nor submissions,” he said.
“Apart from Barbara Tosan Onwubiko and Democrat Chukwuemeka, a past 2nd Vice President, and a handful of others who canvassed their views pre-AGM and were present to canvass them on the floor, the space was largely vacant.
“At the AGM, they won some arguments and lost others. And that is precisely how constitutional democracy works.”
Returning to the controversy over the cost of NBA elections, Aikpokpo-Martins argued that some of the complaints being made after the 2026 election might have been addressed before the poll if senior lawyers and presidential aspirants had participated actively in the 2025 constitutional amendment process.
“Had senior members and presidential aspirants been present at the 2025 AGM to advocate forcefully against the commercialisation of our elections, it is probable that the very issues resurrected at the 2026 AGM would have been resolved then,” he said.
He warned that lawyers who profess commitment to the Association should not abandon the institutional platforms through which its future is determined.
“Those who profess love for this Association must not abdicate the field,” he said.
“To walk away is to cede the narrative and the future of the NBA to those who are either unaware of the problems or who benefit from them.”
Aikpokpo-Martins also drew attention to the personal and financial burden associated with contesting national NBA elections, saying the true cost may not be fully appreciated by those who have never sought national office.
“Until one contests a national election, one cannot fully appreciate the ordeal aspirants endure to secure the mandate of members to serve,” he said.
“The financial outlay is staggering. The toll is physical, mental, and emotional.”
According to him, one of the most disturbing consequences occurs after an unsuccessful campaign, when candidates are left to confront not only electoral defeat but also the magnitude of financial and personal resources expended during the contest.
“The most troubling aspect is the aftermath of defeat,” he said.
“Candidates are left devastated, not just by the loss, but by the sheer scale of investment lost. It is a cruel cycle. No one should be driven to despair because they offered themselves to serve.”
He described the situation as unsustainable but maintained that the solution lies with members of the Association themselves.
“This trajectory is unsustainable. But the remedy lies in our hands,” Aikpokpo-Martins said.
“The changes we seek will not materialise by commentary after the fact. They will only come when strong, credible, and experienced voices show up at the AGM to shape the Constitution each time it is up for amendment.”
He welcomed indications from the newly inaugurated NBA President that electoral reform would receive attention under the new administration.
“Thankfully, Madam President, in her inaugural address today, has activated the mechanism for electoral reform. The responsibility now shifts to us,” he said.
Aikpokpo-Martins therefore called on senior lawyers, particularly those who have personally experienced the financial and other burdens of contesting NBA national elections, to participate fully in the emerging reform process.
“I therefore urge senior members of the Association, particularly those who have contested national elections and understand the burden firsthand, to seize this moment,” he said.
“Let us ensure that the voices advocating for a more decent, transparent, and cost-effective electoral process in the NBA prevail.”
He maintained that the AGM should not merely become a platform where members revisit missed opportunities and complain about problems that could have been addressed when reform proposals were formally before the Association.
“The AGM is not a place for lamentation. It is a workshop for nation-building within our Bar,” Aikpokpo-Martins said.
His intervention effectively urged NBA members to move beyond post-election criticism and make greater use of the Association’s constitutional mechanisms to address concerns about campaign costs, transparency and the broader electoral process before the next election cycle.
Aikpokpo-Martins concluded by congratulating the new NBA President and national officers and wishing the incoming administration success.
“Congratulations President BBold and the new national officers. I wish you the very best,” he said.
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